Customer Ratings & Reviews

Great watch. Simple reliable and built tough. You will not regret this purchase.

Great product. Would buy again. Meets all my needs.

This very versatile for the hardworking men,one thing i love this wacht is that military grade plastic.

Bought this because i got tired of my Apple watch barely making it through the day and failing to deliver notifications. The Instinct Solar wins on both these: I only charge my Instict one a week now and I could wait up to two weeks if I wanted to. Solar charging really does work, a week outside meant my battery meter barely moved. GPS tracking is surprisingly accurate when enabled (but GPS is a battery drainer). And I like the more traditionaly "retro" watch look this has. My favorite feature is the customizability of the watch faces: the graph can be anything I want it to be: solar intake, steps, heart rate, altititude,etc. Along with ability to tweak the info in the small circle and two changeable data fields under the time. Very powerful. Downsides? Many Many settings under the hood to potentially tweak to get the best out of this and the button interface vs. touchscreen definitely takes some getting used to. Price definitely feels somewhat steep retail as well for the platics and rubber this is made out of. Otherwise a month into ownership I don't regret the purchase and bought a lavender one for my wife as well.

Rugged watch that is practical and to the point. I have only charged it once since it's solar and it has been almost 30 days since I got it. I was going to buy a Casio shock but this one has more accurate sensors for what I need. Hiking, swimming,biking, gps,steps etc it's great. I like the Garmin app a lot along with the watch! Even if it's first generation its great!

This was a gift for a relative who found touchscreen smartwatches too complicated. It solved many of thoser issues, but has its own challenges. PROS: +Rugged design seems durable +Amazing battery life and solar charging +Lightweight and comfortable to wear +Easy to read monochrome display +Fitness tracking appears to work well +Vibrates for an incoming phone call or notification +The bubble in the upper right corner tells you what you're selecting. CONS: -Navigation is overly complicated. It's not always clear which button is needed to access a menu -Buttons are on the lower portion of the watch and can be hard to press when on your wrist. Gripping the face often triggers actions on the other side. -The charger is somewhat awkward to plug in Overall, it's a very good watch that could be near perfect with some usability tweaks,

Disclaimer; this was a purchase for my father. I returned it because it was too complicated for him, but I still recommend it if you’re willing to incur the learning curve. Absolutely fantastic battery life and efficient GPS/altimeter/compass etc. it’s not smart in the sense that you’re going to be able to use it as a phone, but it does sync data to your mobile device. The specs and reviews speak for themselves. It’s such a great piece of tech. If you’re on the fence about getting the normal Instinct because it’s cheaper, check out the differences. The updated GPS module is much more effective, and solar makes it last practically forever if you turn off GPS.

I love this watch. This is my 3rd Garmin watch. I bought this one to replace the Garmin Venu, which I liked. The Venu is more attractive (according to my wife), but I prefer using the buttons on the Instinct over the touch screen on the Venue. The black and white screen provides all of the functionality that I need and extends the battery life. There are many activities available for the watch which will definitely cover my needs. The watch works well with Garmin Connect for tracking activities. I was a little worried that it would be hard to use with Garmin Coach activities as I am currently in a 10K training program with Garmin Coach. However, the transition was seamless. I just selected a run activity and the very next question was if I wanted to start my Coach activity or view the steps. The solar charging feature is also amazing. When I first charged the watch it said there were 23 days left on the battery. However, I have been wearing it for 5 days and it now says 20 days remain. Skip the math...that means that the charger has gained back 2 days since I started wearing the watch. Granted it is full summer I drive my Jeep around topless and have been spending a lot of time outside, but that is still awesome.

If you are looking for something that will last for days before needing charged like I was. If you are only interested in fitness tracking like I am. If you prefer the look of a normal watch rather than the "Apple Watch" look like me... then this is a good watch for you. The only thing I found a little odd was how to access all of the capabilities. It is not as intuitive. It is not junk... it just has a learning curve that you must overcome. Took me about 2-4 days to get used to it.

This watch lasts about 25 days on a charge, less if using GPS for running. Has lots of activity tracking options but the menus can be difficult to navigate. Recieves messages and notifications from your phone, but no touch screen. This is a great watch if you want a connected watch that has incredible battery, accurate GPS, and is durable. Not for people who want a second phone as a watch. It also can use MGRS for GPS. Great purchase!!!!

This watch has been my daily driver as a rock climber and trail runner! I love it's long lasting battery, and solar charging, which has saved me in a pinch. It's durable enough that I've banged it around climbing in a gym often, and on rocks at least until I remember to take it off, and it's screen barely has any scratches despite some obvious extra roughness on my part.

The Garmin instinct solar (version 1) is great. GPS tracking more accurate than iPhone. Hearth rate measurement as well and all this without draining the battery. 9 day vacation trip with specific hike and bike activities recorded and normal activities tracked always only charged once at the beginning! All the available options takes some getting used to. I am using the connect app on my iPhone to get the data of the phone and also populate Strava. Works very smoothly. Overall I am very happy with the watch.

First time investing my money on a Garmin smartwatch. Comparing it to my previous smartwatches from different brands I can clearly see the difference and distinct Garmin approach. So far I'm quite happy with it and the companion app. Finally I can settle with my purchase knowing I finally found the one I was looking for. I enjoy the watch promptness of connecting with my phone, solar battery, design, comfortable to wear, any info I want can be easily customized an displayed on the watch as well as the app. Battery life is strong.

I work in the hvac field and I needed a rugged watch. A smart watch that could handle abuse. I've had it for a month now and I'm very happy. When I'm working on rooftop units I get enough sun in a day to actually charge it a couple more days. It's a great watch for outside work. It has a body battery that tells you how much you've charged yourself (slept) or if you're low. Haha. Sometimes I'd rather not know.

This watch is amazing. I was hesitant at first but I’m so happy I made the purchase. I’ve had it a month and only charged it once. At it was still at about 50%. That includes different activities and everything. Fit is great and the watch is very rugged. Takes a beating. I’ve swam in pools and rivers since buying and no problem. I can go on and on but why? Just buy this watch, you won’t be sorry you did.

Tough and smart! I like the package of smart sensors on this watch. At first, I didn't download the user manual; and as a result, it took me longer to optimize the watch's button functions/features. Because I recently experienced heart health challenges, my son encouraged me to utilize the oxygen level/heart rate sensors/data. As it turns out, the watch recorded data showing my blood oxygen (SpO2) levels dropping over 10% while sleeping. The watch also alerted me to some heart rate concerns. I wear the watch while working; and, the watch has flawlessly endured numerous impacts/shocks and water/mud submersions.

This watch is great! It keeps a charge for sooooo long! The solar charging feature is fantastic! It tracks so many metrics and activities, that I have been trying new things other than my normal running, biking and swimming just to try out new features on the watch. I love it! The only knocks I have are that the display isn't great and it could be more fashionable, but I guess you can't have everything.

This is my third Garmin watch. It feels more like a watch than a smart watch. It’s more durable and has the essentials for an active person and nothing more. The solar charging and battery life are great. If you’re into lots of features and perfect displays this isn’t the watch for you. If you want something rugged that gets the job done this is it.

Everything works great on this watch. Works great for tracking runs and hikes. Battery lasts forever. I haven’t done any long, multi-day hikes to test out the effectiveness of the solar charger since I bought the watch, but I might update this review after I do. I can’t really thing of anything extra I’d want to justify paying extra for the latest model, and I bought this on sale, though I prefer less flashiness and less notifications. One thing I learned is that smartwatches/health trackers can’t actually tell when you’re asleep, they just guess. I know this because I once stayed up all night and it said I slept for 7 hours. Not the fault of this watch in particular, the technology is just not there yet.

It doesn't have a touch display or color. The navigation and features are buried behind different button clicks. The mobile apps are needed to fully use the watch (Garmin Connect at least, and Explore to build/manage maps and routes). The watch display is small and not intuitive if you expect to see normal maps. I after I got this watch, it took several hours of tinkering and setup to fully understand, load up my routes, and tune to my preferences. But: the battery life is outstanding. The functionality works great. Orienteering with the watch is easy. I've had several gps units and watches. I am outdoors, in woods, on trails and water. I am hard on my gear. This watch records activity well and can provide the exact info I need. I've owned Samsung and Suunto watches, which I also like. This Garmin supports phone notifications, music, weather, but it's barely "smart". Given the battery life and solar charging, however, and lots of data and functionality specific to outdoor navigation and recreation, this watch is my favorite by a wide margin.